Posts Tagged: Mackinaw City

When you visit the Old Mackinac Point Light Station today, you are stepping back in time to the early years of the 20th century. Since 2004, Mackinac State Historic Parks has been working to return the station grounds to their appearance just over 100 years ago. Three original buildings- the 1892 keepers’ quarters and tower, the 1906 fog signal building, and the 1892 barn- have all been restored to their original appearance, while the 1890 warehouse was reconstructed to match the original in 2014. The station looks complete, but there are still a few elements missing.

Although there aren’t any big anniversaries to celebrate this year, there will be a number of exciting special events throughout the summer at Colonial Michilimackinac. From June to September, two weekends each month will highlight a different aspect of the site’s history with special programs and activities.

White-nose Syndrome (WNS) continues to advance across the country, killing at least a million bats each year. It was first detected in New York in February 2006 and reached the Straits Area during the winter of 2013-14. By the winter of 2014-15 it was found throughout the Upper Peninsula. As of this year, WNS has killed bats in 29 states and 5 Canadian Provinces.

In 2016, the Mackinac Island State Park Commission accessioned 131 gifts and 142 purchases to the historic object and archival collection. Postcards, stereoviews and ruby souvenir glass by island businessman Frank Kriesche added to established collections in the state park. As in previous years, the new acquisitions represent a wide array of topics including some of the first color glass plate negatives, a mezzotint of the Mackinac Bridge being constructed and a large collection of Mackinaw City related objects.

If you have visited Colonial Michilimackinac recently, you may have noticed a few changes, including new exhibits, new gardens, and whole new buildings. A new addition in 2017 will be a weekly laundry demonstration at the Soldier’s House. Although our interpreters won’t be washing your socks, it is still worth a visit to see how the enlisted men’s wives were working in the 1770s. (more…)

November storms on the Great Lakes are infamous for their ferocity and violence. Some, such as the Great Storm of 1913, which sank 12 ships and killed over 250 people, or the 1975 storm that sank the Edmund Fitzgerald, are well known. In November 1940, another strong storm struck the Great Lakes and caused widespread damage, including in the Straits of Mackinac. (more…)

French Canadian tales of the supernatural are explored at Fort Fright each year and one of the favorites is the story of the werewolf. It’s quite different from what we may be familiar with today, but for people in the 1700s at Fort Michilimackinac, the idea of a werewolf was no less terrifying.

Come be one of the first to see Michilimackinac’s latest addition in action: a new 6-pound cannon!

Delivered last week, the cannon is an exact reproduction of a light 6-pound traveling gun. During the 1770s, the British kept two of these bronze guns on Michilimackinac’s parade ground, ready to defend the fort in the event of an American attack. Mounted on a highly mobile carriage with large wheels, these guns could throw a 6 pound cannonball nearly a mile. Although never used in anger, British soldiers fired the guns to celebrate the King’s birthday and other ceremonial events. (more…)